Rider stuck on Wild Mouse at Idlewild Park describes rescue: "I was panicking"

A high-wire rescue unfolded Monday evening on the Wild Mouse roller coaster at Idlewild Park in Ligonier Township.

Just after 5 p.m. on Monday, one of the ride's cars stopped on the steel track, leaving three riders, including Monica Johnson and her 8-year-old cousin, stranded about 50 feet in the air for more than an hour. 

"I was panicking," Johnson said. "I just have anxiety, so I was panicking. But my little cousin, she's 8 years old, she did amazing."

Johnson says while the situation was frightening, the response from Idlewild employees and firefighters with the Darlington Volunteer Fire Department helped keep everyone calm. Using a mechanical lift, crews safely brought all three riders back to the ground.

Johnson said Monday was her first time on the Wild Mouse. However, she said this incident did not scare her off from returning to the park.   

"I really do appreciate them," she said. "It doesn't put me off at all."

In a statement to KDKA-TV, Herschend, the parent company of Idlewild Park and SoakZone, confirmed the incident and said no one was injured.

Darlington Volunteer Fire Chief Kurt Rose told KDKA-TV the successful rescue was the result of countless hours of training at the park, for exactly this type of emergency.

"It is almost what we would call a textbook case of what we trained on and the things that we practice over there," Rose said. "The personnel at Idlewild are very professional, they know their jobs over there very well and they are a giant help to the fire department."

Herschend did not say what caused the ride to stop, but said the Wild Mouse will remain temporarily closed while a safety review is completed. The rest of Idlewild Park remains open to guests.